Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6
The Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C42, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6. It is a line of the Petrov's Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 18,434 times by this move order. White won 46%, 3% were drawn and Black won 51%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nxc6 (82% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.47 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 4. Nxc6 bxc6 5. Nc3 Rb8 6. Be2 Bb4)
- ECO
- C42
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4N3/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 7,999 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9,321 | |
| 2000+ | 1,114 | |
| All | 18,434 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nxc6 | 15,047 (82%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 1,346 (7%) | |
| 4. d4 | 1,011 (5%) | |
| 4. Nxf7 | 596 (3%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 95 (1%) | |
| 4. Nc4 | 85 (0%) | |
| 4. f4 | 54 (0%) | |
| 4. Nd3 | 42 (0%) |
Master games
134 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 6%, Black 49%). The strongest:
- GM Yifan Hou (2658) – GM Daniil Dubov (2714) 0-1 · Goldmoney Asian Prelim · 2021-06-26
- GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2693) – GM Aksel Bu Kvaloy (2490) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Apr 2026 · 2026-04-07
- IM Renato Terry (2514) – GM Aleksandr Lenderman (2648) 1/2-1/2 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2019-11-07
- GM Andrey Esipenko (2693) – IM Eric Rosen (2377) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Oct 2025 · 2025-10-07
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2628) – IM Eric Rosen (2377) 1-0 · Naroditsky Mem Blitz 2026 · 2026-07-04
Search all games of the Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Artem9630 (2645) – Nana_jede_cevape (2838) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- hyo_lee (2676) – Nimrod66 (2450) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- ffl0 (2584) – Nimrod66 (2496) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Petrov's Defense (2… Nf6 3. Nxe5) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5
Continuations
- Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit Accepted (4. Nxc6 dxc6) C42 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6
More Petrov's Defense lines (all)
- Petrov's Defense (2. Nf3 Nf6) C42
- Petrov's Defense (3. Nxe5 d6) C42
- Petrov's Defense (3… d6 4. Nf3) C42
- Petrov's Defense (4. Nf3 Nxe4) C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Berger Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Browne Attack C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Main Line C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Closed Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Jaenisch Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Krause Variation C42
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.